Saturday, March 1, 1997

Governor Pete Wilson joined CDC Parole staff, the LA Police Department, and other law enforcement officials last month to highlight Parole LEADS, program that links police agencies with parolee data. Parole LEADS (Law Enforcement Automated Data System) is an innovative, state-of-the-art computer system designed to provide local law enforcement agencies with current information about parolees being supervised by the California Department of Corrections (CDC). A Parole LEADS pilot program is currently operating in four agencies: Los Angeles Police Department, Sacramento Police Department, Redding Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff.

Parole LEADS is designed to help local law enforcement in criminal analysis and is not intended for tactical or street-level use. Parole LEADS contains the following parolee information: full names, aliases, monikers, physical descriptors, tattoos, addresses, vehicles, commitment offenses and registration status. The program includes all active, suspended, pre-parole and revoked cases as well as cases discharged within the past year. A user can search for a parolee by any defined category such as a sex offender who has a tattoo.

The program creates a list in seconds of parolees who match the request. Parole LEADS also includes the parole status and parole date, agent of record, parole unit and the unit+s address and phone number. Parole LEADS is protected from unauthorized access by data encryption, legal agreements, training, written policy and procedures and other strict access controls. Its security features are similar to those of banks and other agencies and companies that must maintain tight control of access to data. Parole LEADS began with a 1995 law by Assemblyman Baca. A CDC report to the Legislature recommended expanding the program statewide.